10 August

1960: On 10 August 1960, a capsule ejected from the US Discoverer 13 satellite was recovered when it returned from orbit; it was the first human-made object recovered from space.

1945: On 10 August 1945, Robert Hutchings Goddard died.

Goddard (born 5 October 1882) was a physicist and engineer, and is regarded as the 'father' of modern American rocketry. By 1926, Goddard had constructed and tested successfully the first rocket using liquid fuel. The flight of his rocket on 16 March 1926, at Auburn, Massachusetts, was a feat as important in history as that of the Wright brothers flight at Kitty Hawk.

1675: On 10 August 1675, British King Charles II laid the foundation stone of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London.